Seaweed research and
production in Denmark
Susan Løvstad Holdt
Post doc.
University of Copenhagen and DTU Environment
Organizor of the Danish Seaweed Network
Seaweed history of DK
• CPKelco, started as Litex A/S ”Danish agar”
• Danisco
• Phycologist at Universities
• Recent seaweed projects
• Seaweed farm: 1 (Marifood)
• Do not eat seaweed! More aware now:– Sushi wave
– Seaweed book, media….. Etc.
– Seaweed salat in fish stores
• No Danish seaweed on the Danish market
• Demand from restaurants especially; NOMA and other restaurants
• Industrial classification code: Food safety, utilization of the raw material, cultivation, recently EU-regulation on organic seaweed cultivation
• Dialog with: Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries:
• Danish Veterinary and Food Administration
• The Danish Directorate of Fisheries
• Veterinary Control Office-Aquaculture Department
Figure 3. Globally harvested (□) and cultivated seaweed (○) in offshore marine and brackish water from 1950-2006 (FAO 2008).
The rest of the world (Asia: 99.7 %)
Danish biomass
The aquatic ressource. Indergaard 1983
Level
Research
Research
Industry
Industry
Industry
Research
Research
Industry
Research
Research
Potentials of seaweed
Anno 2010- 27 years later
Present
level
Industry
Research
Industry
Industry
Industry
Research
Research: cars and air plane
Industry
Research
Research
Western world
Future
biorefineries
Waste water management
high added
value products
Low value
bulk products
(2. generation)
MECHANICAL
TREATMENT
Project: ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR
MONITORING, MAINTENANCE AND RESTORATION OF
SEAWEED BEDS (Presentation by Dr. Fujita D. at ISS 2010, Mexico)
Japanese project: Associations of Fisheries Cooperatives (JF),
Local Community, and Tokyo University of Marine Science
and Technology (2007-2009)– Seed production for seaweed beds
– Remove the sea urchins
– Control of sea urchin density-incl. transplantation
– Settlement of protected area (net cages)
– Fertilization (nitrate and iron)
– Cleared rocks
– Aforestation on land along rivers- to stabilize the quantity and quality of river waters
– Removal of accumulated materials (woods, garbage)
No increase in total N-discharge
Bring the seaweed cultivation to the
nutrient source
Exploit the nutrient scrubbing
Waste water management
Integrated aquaculture
Space- visual pollution:
Reduce the N-waste by 10 %:
Musholm Lax: 3.000 tonnes fish: 25 ha of seaweed
Agersø Havbrug: 260 tonnes fish: 3 ha of seaweed
No increase in the total N-discharge
Increase of fish production,
reduce your N-waste
2003:
Recommendations by the Committee of Marine Cultivation
Vandmiljøplaner: reducere N and P
Organisms for bioremediation (blue mussels and seaweed)
25 marine of shore fish farms
45,000 tonnes of fish production per year
Potential: Governmental plan of action: Aim at 2013:
115,000 tonnes; hereof 10,000 tonnes other species
Max release of 2,400 tonnes N/year (now 1,000)
2010:
Recommendations by the Aquaculture Committe of the Government
Regulated by the output and not input as before
Negotiable N quotas (like the CO2 quotas)
No extra N and P waste
20 marine of shore fish farms
44,000 tonnes of fish production per year
Windmill parks
existing
planned
• Future …. N-quotas?
No seaweed on the outside but mentioned inside
Concludes that seaweed are an unexploited ressource
• Examples of applications, present and future
• Create social benefits
Potential seaweed biomass
The Sea: the unexploited ressource(Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries)
Skjånes et al 2007
If we get the feedstock
… what do we want with it…
Skjånes et al 2007
Basic research needed• What do we know about our seaweed species
• Like the Norwegians: natural variations (seasonal, regional)
• Like the Canadians: breeding, improving the stock (biorefineries, like Danish
conditions)
Seasonal maxima (solid bars)
and minima (shaded bars) of
constituents (dry weight basis)
of Norwegian A. nodosum and F.
resiculosus: (references in
(Ragan and Jensen, 1978)).
Figure 8. Seasonal variations of alginic acid, mannitol, laminarin and ash content (g/100 g dw)of Laminaria digitata
in four locations (Reine, Vardø, Espevær and Ingøy) in Norway during 1951-1953 (Jensen and Haug, 1956).
• Research has changed from basic to applied
• Less money from government
– Less researchers that are fully finansed
– Proposal writing, less research
– Reduction in Ph.D. scholarships (200 in Copenhagen University)
However, Denmark should be in the top 10
in research in 2010. Knowledge is our raw material!
University (projects at present)
Industry or other business
University (interest)
Industry (interest)
Holdt 2009 Van Deur 2009
Present and future projects
• Entrepreneurs
• Funded
•Food application (whole)
•Functional food (extractions)
•Biorefineries
•Bioenergy
•Cultivation
Food application
Havets spisekammer/”Pantry of the sea”
”Frisk fangst” and a chef : 300,000 Dkr (LAG)
Add whole seaweed to bread, spice, pasta etc.
Buy via the internet
(Tonny Kristensen and Jesper Pedersen)
LAG: Local Action Groups
“OPUS: Bladderwrack and
savoy cabbage will be tested
in the worlds largest food
experiment”.New Nordic food will be tested at schools and in private
families. Claus Meyer (chef), Arne Astrup (KU-LIFE),
includes NOMA: 100 mil Dkr (Nordeafonden)
Food application
NOMA and Nordic Food Labare already working with seaweed in their scientific kitchen - Creating attention
Food application
Seaweed fed to piglets (Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and AlphaSign A/S)
-milk to solid fed
-diarrhea and infections- penicillin
-seaweed showed really good results on E. coli
-organic meat production
Upcoming: Functional foodJan Stagsted and Trine Huusfeldt
Functional food (extract)
Exploring algae for new food ingredientsMicro and macroalgae
Højteknologifonden (4 mill. Dkr.)(3 years)
KU-LIFE (William Willats) and Danisco
Antioxidants from marine organismIncluding seaweed, polyphenolics
Screened 16 Danish species for antiox. activity
Post doc Sabeena Farvin, DTU National Food Institute
Biorefinery
Danish Indian project (15 mill. Dkr, 4 year)Indian Universities and Industry, DTU Environment, KU, Lemvig Biogas
High rate algal biomass production for food, feed, biochemicals High rate algal biomass production for food, feed, biochemicals and biofuelsand biofuels
Biorefinery
MAVP: Macroalgal value added products:Collected seaweed (cult. potential), extraction of bioactive compounds,
protein and lipids for fish feed trials, carbohydrates tested for bioactivity
Involve: DTU Food, DTU Environment, KU-LIFE, DTU Aqua, Risø DTU, Grønt Center, etc…
MAB: Macroalgal Biorefinery:Cultivation of seaweed in effluent/waste water, extraction of biochemicals for building blocks,
proteins for fish feed, carbohydrates for bioenergy
Involve: Risø DTU, DTI, DMU, Biomar
Upcoming…
Cultivation of seaweed
Tanks (flow through, aerated) for cultivation of seaweed biomass: Grenaa
DMU, Ocean Centre Denmark, Kattegatcentret, DTI etc.
Funded: Brd. Hartmanns Fond (600,000 Dkr) and DMU, DTI and EU
Blue RevolutionUnravelling the potential for a large Ocean Technological Platform in DK
including fish, mussel and seaweed cultivation
Danish Organisation of Aquaculture, DHI, DTU Aqua, DTU
Seaweed cultivation on the small Danish IslandsUnravelling the potential (report finalised) and funded by LAG and others
(1.2 mill. Dkr.)
Partners: Småøernes Aktionsgruppe, Bornholm / Ertholmene,
Det sydfynske øhav, Bornholms LAG
AlgaeInnovation and The Local VirtuesGrønt Center Lolland and Dansih Shellfish Centre, respectively, Fornyelsesfonden
Bioenergy
BioWalk4BiofuelCultivation of algae in the Mediterranean: EU-FP7 project
Partners: DMU, DTI, Italy, India, Sweden, Spane, Estonia, Jordan
Algae for Biogas in the Jutland RegionRegion Midtjyllands Vækstforum, DMU, DTI,
Ocean Centre Denmark, DJF, DONG Renescience, Kattegatcentret
Energy production from marin bomass (Ulva lactuca)Energinet.dk
DMU, DTI, Ocean Centre Denmark, DONG Energy
Marin Centre of the Great Belt (MKS)Funded by: Slagelse local authority and LAG Ministry of Food
Partners: Slagelse, GEMBA Seafood Consulting, Bisserup Fisk,
DTU Food, Fishermen at Omø
Commercial utilization of organic seaweed for consumptionDFFE: Bælternes Fiskeriforening, GEMBA, DTU
Cultivation of seaweed
Danish Seaweed Network
Hypoglossum sp.foto: Susan L.Holdt
Tang som food og non-food
Dansk tang i helsekost
Torben Sønnichsen
Bioliving
Plantestoffer og Sundhed
Hvad arbejder de med på
Institut for Kemi-, Bio- og Miljøteknologi, SDUXavier Fretté/Bent Lyager
Tang i køkkenetOle G. Mouritsen
Forfatter og professor SDU
Den gode kemi i tang Susan L. Holdt
DTU Aqua
Invitation til tangnetværksmødemandag d. 23. marts kl. 16
DTU Aqua
Søltoft plads bygning 221,lokale 237 (2. sal)2800 Kgs. Lyngby
16.00 Velkomst Præsentationsrunde af fremmødte
ca. 18.00 En lille anretning og snak
Tilmelding til Susan senest ons. d. 18. martspå email: [email protected] eller 2627 2707
Hypoglossum sp.foto: Susan L.Holdt
Hypoglossum sp.foto: Susan L.Holdt
Tang som food og non-food
Dansk tang i helsekost
Torben Sønnichsen
Bioliving
Plantestoffer og Sundhed
Hvad arbejder de med på
Institut for Kemi-, Bio- og Miljøteknologi, SDUXavier Fretté/Bent Lyager
Tang i køkkenetOle G. Mouritsen
Forfatter og professor SDU
Den gode kemi i tang Susan L. Holdt
DTU Aqua
Dansk tang i helsekost
Torben Sønnichsen
Bioliving
Plantestoffer og Sundhed
Hvad arbejder de med på
Institut for Kemi-, Bio- og Miljøteknologi, SDUXavier Fretté/Bent Lyager
Tang i køkkenetOle G. Mouritsen
Forfatter og professor SDU
Den gode kemi i tang Susan L. Holdt
DTU Aqua
Invitation til tangnetværksmødemandag d. 23. marts kl. 16
DTU Aqua
Søltoft plads bygning 221,lokale 237 (2. sal)2800 Kgs. Lyngby
16.00 Velkomst Præsentationsrunde af fremmødte
ca. 18.00 En lille anretning og snak
Tilmelding til Susan senest ons. d. 18. martspå email: [email protected] eller 2627 2707
157 members from industry, universities,restaurants, organizations, or persons that
work with or have interest in seaweed
The network group started in winter 2008
4 meetings and 4 newsletters
Fundings from LMC: Centre for Advanced
Food Studies
• Aim is to promote production, application, communication and knowledge of seaweed and strengthen the national collaboration
• Sure that this network has already created new contacts, awareness of other projects, and future partners… and not least the industry, restaurants … etc.
• … and there will be more
Danish Seaweed Network
Conclusion
• We are just at the beginning in DK
– Production and Research wise
• Basic research needed
• Development of technology to reduce
manpower
• The Dansih Seaweed Network will help